Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame

Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame Reviews

The Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame is a sports history museum located in the Bell Centre, which itself, is the home of the Montreal Canadiens. More commonly known as the Habs (which comes from “Les Habitants”), they are the oldest team in the National Hockey League (NHL), going back over a century. And the most successful, having won the most Stanley Cups at 24, though they have not won it in over 20 years.

This place has a lot of Canadiens memorabilia, that goes back to its earliest days in the National Hockey Association, which was a league that came before the NHL. On display are the jerseys from different time periods, worn by different players that have played for the team. And a wall of hockey cards of all the players that have played for the Habs. They do include some of the biggest names in hockey, like Maurice Richard, Bob Gainey, Ken Dryden, and Patrick Roy.

There is also an interesting section on the Original Six era, back when the NHL had only 6 teams. The 6 teams were the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and of course, the Canadiens. Back then, players had to travel between cities by train, which was not easy to deal with, as teams would travel on the same train, and often play home-and-home series.

Also there are seats and a replica of the dressing room from the old Montreal Forum, which was the previous home of the Habs. Plus another section on past and present rivals of the Canadiens, like the Quebec Nordiques and Boston Bruins, respectively. Surprisingly, the Philadelphia Flyers are considered a rival, though I never thought that myself.

You can play on the TV screen, and hear what past Canadiens players say about playing for the team, or how it was like playing in Montreal. Plus another screen, to pull up statistics. Then, more memorabilia on the Habs who played for Team Canada in the Olympics, and a display on the 100th anniversary of the team. I guess I should not surprised that there is no mention of “Le Trade” here, which shook the hockey world.

You can see this place combined with the tour of the Bell Centre, if there is nothing scheduled there. But ask ahead of time before buying a combo ticket, especially if you come from out-of-town. Unfortunately, there is no separate admission for both places, so if you want to tour the Bell Centre on another day, you will still have to buy the combo ticket.

In addition to the regular hours of operation, it is also open on game day, from 90 minutes before game time, to puck drop. So if game time is 7:30pm, the Hall of Fame will be open from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. But this is only limited to those who have a ticket to the game itself.

Overall, the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame is an enjoyable place, and a must-see for hockey fans, even if you are not a Habs fan. And maybe worth checking out for sports fans in general. Though if you are not a sports fan at all, then definitely skip it!